Chapter 6:
Honey Trap
MISERABLE FROM the thankfulness Liam was sending his way, the
Guide thought hard about how to fill him with hatred, resentment, and
disgust.
"I need to make him unhappy, but the only people he has in his life are
the old butler and the doll. There's no way for me to deal him any emotional
damage. If there were a human woman in the picture, I'd be able to dredge up
some of the trauma from his old life, but..."
He thought about having someone who worked for Liam stir up some
kind of trouble, but all the government officials who might have made
mischief had been executed, so that was out. He needed to find some sort of
pawn...
If he had to, he could create one, but it would spoil the fun to interfere
so directly. It wasn't to his taste to orchestrate everything himself. The
Guide's typical strategy was to generate some small impetus and watch how
events played out after that. At the same time, he wanted to straighten out this
Liam business quickly, so he was having a tough time deciding.
"I thought he'd have dozens of women serving him and be doing
whatever he desired, but he's been surprisingly diligent."
Liam had supposedly planned on becoming an evil lord, but he was
governing his people like a benevolent ruler. Did he forget his own goal, or
what? the Guide wondered.
When Liam was alone in his office, he finally stretched and smirked.
"Oh?" When the Guide read his thoughts, he found that Liam had his
own ideas on how to be an evil lord.
My domain's flourishing now, and my people have more economic
freedom. It really is a good thing I helped them attain some wealth before
squeezing them dry. I mean, what was I supposed to do with their dregs?
The Guide was pleased to find that Liam hadn't forgotten his goal,
after all. If he'd had a change of heart, the Guide might have just crushed him
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between his fingers right then and there.
"I see—just like me, he intends to raise them up before knocking them
down. Certainly not a bad idea. That means I can expect interesting
developments in the future."
Liam mulled over his future plans. Should I start by collecting a
beautiful harem? Considering my domain's population, there's gotta be at
least one or two peerless beauties around here.
The Guide became giddy listening to Liam contemplate gathering up
women against their will. "Wonderful. Now I can see just how vulgar and
narrow-minded you are. Whether you kidnap them or buy them, you'll never
own their hearts. Oh, that gets me every time. Ahh, but maybe I'll let them
whisper sweet nothings to each other, then introduce another man to steal her
away from him. I'm sure Liam would just love that!"
Just then Amagi entered the room to spoil the Guide's fun. He clicked
his tongue and watched the exchange with resentment.
"You want to transfer personnel from the military?"
"Yes. We would be taking on reserve soldiers and those close to
retirement. I had inquired about purchasing unused surplus from the army,
and they asked if we desire personnel as well."
The Guide decided he could make use of the Imperial Army's
suggestion. "Hmm. The army probably wants to get rid of some of their
problematic members."
The army seemed to want to demote some of its soldiers and sweep
them out to the boonies, leaving them for this backwater lord to deal with.
Like the Guide, Liam caught on to this and frowned. "They're just going to
send us useless people, aren't they?"
"They will send us Imperial soldiers, some of them perhaps graduates
of the Imperial Military Academy. They will be well educated and
professionally trained, with experience in real combat. I believe such
personnel are necessary to strengthen our private armada."
Amagi's words were persuasive, and Liam was forced to agree.
The Guide's lips twisted into a smile. "I have the perfect idea to sow a
few seeds for the future. I'll make sure he gets a nice contingent of earnest
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warriors who would never stand for an evil lord, then wait for them to rebel
against him. This is looking to be quite fun after all."
Liam had been working hard to ensure that he could torment his people
as an evil lord at a later stage. He surely wouldn't appreciate soldiers of good
moral character who would stand with the people when they staged an
uprising and strung Liam up. A warmth spread through the Guide as he
imagined Liam's own men executing him.
"Now, let me go make sure the men who get sent to him are nice and
upstanding. I spare no effort when it comes to follow-ups, do I? Sometimes I
even think I work too much!"
The Guide snapped his fingers and black smoke spewed from his body,
dispersing into the air around him. He tilted his hat down low and stepped
through the door between worlds.
"Really, though, there's nothing more nauseating than gratitude. I feel
sick just being here. Best to spend some time elsewhere for a while. Please
entertain me when next I arrive, little Liam."
***
A fleet of old-style battleships had arrived at House Banfield's domain.
Commanding them was a brigadier general of the Imperial Army, an elite
who had graduated with top marks from the military academy and steadily
risen in rank. However, his rise had ended when he exposed the wrongdoings
of the noble who was his commanding officer. While his contemporaries
continued their career paths, he alone remained a brigadier general, relegated
to a fleet that merely patrolled a remote region. The fleet was notorious for
being staffed by the army's undesirables, cruising an area that would never
see combat with an enemy force.
There were in fact several such fleets, and due to the whims of some
higher-up or other, it had been decided a few of them should be disposed of.
They'd found a noble who wanted to acquire the aged battleships, and the
people manning them were part of the package.
"So the army's selling people now too. It's rotten to the core," the
brigadier general muttered on his bridge, but no one around him was
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listening. The personnel he'd been given for this reassignment was a
collection of strong-willed troublemakers who had butted heads with their
superiors, a good number of whom had been demoted for defying a noble.
"What a bunch of misfits."
One of the operators on the bridge informed him that they were nearing
the planet of House Banfield.
"We're receiving a communication from House Banfield, General."
"Patch them through."
The general thought poorly of nobles' private armies, and he lamented
the fact that now he was going to belong to one of them. However, as a man
who'd spent many years in the military, he knew of no other way to live. He
couldn't just choose another path at this point in his life.
A bunch of misfits, including me. Well, I wonder what this noble who
bought us will be like.
What sort of things would they be forced to do for House Banfield?
Many of his soldiers worried about the answer to that question, and as the
man leading them, the brigadier general puffed out his chest, determined to
make a strong impression.
***
I was now in my mid-forties. Would I have considered myself old at
this point in my past life? Maybe not quite yet. In this world, I was just now
approaching adulthood. As for my life, it was just more of the same. I was
still overseeing my domain, studying, and training my body. Why? Call it the
preparation phase of my evil deeds. Actually, I felt like I had been doing
quite well, so I didn't see a problem with just continuing on in this way.
As I was finishing up some work in my office, Amagi arrived with a
report. "Master, Engineering Lieutenant Nias Carlin of the Seventh Weapons
Factory is requesting to meet with you. She wishes to inquire as to the status
of the Avid."
"Nias?" So that beautiful engineering lieutenant has finally returned to
my territory. "She came all the way here just to see the Avid?"
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"Checking on the status of the Avid is likely just a pretext. I believe her
true intention is to peddle the wares of the Seventh Weapons Factory."
The Empire had a lot of rough edges, which was understandable for an
intergalactic organization. Its immense scale meant that countless issues
ended up being treated as trivial matters. For instance, any old noble could
buy armaments from an Empire-managed weapons factory. There were terms
for buying and selling such things, but they were lax, hence the factory rep
who'd come here acting like a door-to-door salesman.
"Guess she figures our finances are good enough now for us to afford
her products. Brand-new battleships are gonna be expensive though, huh?"
I supposed it would be comparable to buying a used car versus a new
car. Most of House Banfield's current military vessels were a generation old.
In order to cut costs, our main force was far from top-grade, but I considered
our ships plenty adequate. Right now, I didn't have any gripes.
"She should offer her stuff to the Imperial Army or to richer nobles,
instead of trying to sell it to me."
"I took the liberty of looking into the reputation of the Seventh
Weapons Factory, and while they seem to be recognized for high-quality
manufacturing, they are also known for inferior design. The consistent
quality also makes their prices high. All things considered, they have a
middling reputation within the Empire. The Third Weapons Factory is much
more highly regarded and excels in both quality and design."
Nias's factory being the seventh meant that there were obviously more
weapons factories in the Empire. I imagined things were hard for them with
so much competition, but that had nothing to do with me, so I couldn't say I
much cared one way or the other.
I replied to Amagi in the affirmative regarding Nias's request, then
headed to my reception room.
***
Upon my arrival to the reception room, I found Nias there waiting for
She was in her military uniform today instead of her work clothes,
though the tight skirt she wore looked awfully short to me. Noticing my gaze,
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Amagi whispered to me, "That uniform breaches Imperial Army regulations."
When I sat down on the couch, I understood what she meant. Nias had
on some pretty daring underwear.
After we greeted each other, Nias attempted to make small talk rather
than launch right into her sales pitch. "You've grown a lot, my lord. I hardly
recognized you."
"Right. So what did you want to say?" She had probably meant to
compliment me, but I didn't feel that I'd grown all that much. To me it was
just lip service, a stock phrase you'd say to a kid.
"I thought I would come and see how the Avid is doing. How's it been
lately?"
I let my gaze flick down to the gap between her thighs, peering inside
her skirt. "That's not what you're here for. You've got something to sell me,
don't you?"
My domain was much more developed now, and I was generating a lot
more tax money. When they caught a whiff of my newly improved financial
situation, all sorts of people showed up to sell me things. Nias was one of
them.
She took out a tablet and fiddled with it, producing some 3D images
that appeared in front of me. "Right to the point, eh? I appreciate that. Would
you like to purchase any of the ships or weapons from the Seventh Factory?"
The images that hovered before me were small, but they had quite a bit
of impact. The holograms were incredibly realistic, almost like elaborate
miniatures floating around me, and underneath each image was an absurd
figure—the price.
Yeah, new cars—I mean, new ships are pricey.
"They're much more expensive than the ships we're using."
"Well, vessels like this have grades to them, you see. They'll cost
substantially more than ships with only the bare minimum of capabilities."
For the price of one new high-powered battleship, I could buy three
used lower-grade ships.
Amagi perused the images and added some information that Nias
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hadn't provided. "You will also have to pay tax on anything you buy from an
Empire-owned weapons factory. These prices are before tax."
I glanced at Nias to find her averting her gaze, a nervous smile on her
face. "I-I can guarantee a high level of performance, though! The latest
models have multiple improvements, far surpassing previous ships in several
areas! Take this cruiser, for example—it can accommodate many more
mobile knights than previous models. It performs much better as a fighting
ship as well!"
In other words, they've made some minor improvements to previous
models, so she's here to push them on me. Sure, they've got great
functionality, but what do you want me to do with 'em?
"Sell 'em to the Imperial Army."
Looking glum, Nias covered her face with both hands. "They weren't
picked up in preliminary trials."
The Empire tended to do things in broad strokes, so each fleet in the
Imperial Army could choose the factory it bought its ships from. For this
reason, trial ones were constantly being held. Nias had just revealed that the
Seventh Weapons Factory hadn't sold any of its ships following their trial
runs.
Amagi coolly presented the results of her analysis. "In this instance, the
problem does not lie with the performance."
Nias made excuses, almost sounding like she was about to cry. "Our
vessels were superior in a number of ways, but they kept saying things like
'They're smaller than the previous models,' 'I don't like the design,' or 'The
interior looks cheap'!"
As a matter of status, nobles prioritized outward appearance and
interior design. There were some commoners who'd reached the upper brass
of the military, but nobles made up an overwhelming majority. If there
wasn't a huge difference in the specs between two ships, they'd obviously go
with the model that looked more impressive. In their place, I would choose
the one with the better design myself.
There were people who prioritized functionality, but when you
compared two military vessels of the same type, there wasn't much of a
difference. If I was right and Nias's factory had only made minor
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improvements to their previous models, resulting in a disappointing design
and price-performance ratio, there was no incentive to buy their new ones.
"Wh-what do you say, my lord? How about just two hundred ships.
No, make it one hundred! You won't even have to pay for them all up front!
Could you please think it over?"
I figured the Seventh Weapons Factory hadn't anticipated doing so
poorly in their trials. They'd probably only come to me because of their
mountain of overstock.
"Can you display ships from other factories, Amagi?"
"Of course."
Small 3D images of battleships from other weapons factories popped
up around Amagi. When I looked at the other ships, I realized that the ones
from the Seventh Factory had a bluntness about them. Perhaps even
"bluntness" was an understatement. They were all function and no form,
practically screaming, "We're weapons!" I just couldn't warm up to them.
Ships from other factories with the same basic structure boasted much more
refined designs. I understood why the Seventh Factory's ships weren't
successful. There was no way for them to compete.
When I compared all the different ships Amagi previewed, the ones
from the Third Weapons Factory looked especially cool. Those would sell for
sure.
"This one's good, isn't it, Amagi? Let's make this one my flagship."
"You would need permission from the Empire to purchase a vessel of
the flagship class, Master. I fear that it would not be granted to House
Banfield."
Looks like I can't buy anything over two thousand meters. I'll have to
stick to the thousand-meter ships, then. But is a thousand meters considered
small? How can I judge?
"Oh yeah? That's too bad."
It turned out that the reason I couldn't buy such a craft was because up
until recently, House Banfield had been behind on the taxes it owed the
Empire. The payments were finally getting made, but the damage had been
done, and the Empire was still treating me coldly. I guessed that if I asked
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them for permission to acquire a flagship, they'd demand I first get all of
House Banfield's back taxes up to date. I didn't think it made sense for me as
an evil lord to be dutifully paying taxes, but nothing good would come from
standing up to my superiors. If you can't beat 'em, pay 'em. Doing evil on my
home turf and sucking up to the Empire... I'm a two-bit villain. Well, it is
what it is.
"Guess I'll settle for this type, then. It looks cooler than what I've got
right now, anyway." I indicated an eight-hundred-meter class craft, though it
was a little small.
"I will contact the Third Weapons Factory, then."
We were having this conversation right in front of Nias, and she cut in.
"Wait a second! We're really in trouble here!"
I realized that, but it wasn't as if it were my fault. "Well, your designs
suck."
"But isn't functionality more important? You can't see the outside of a
ship when you're in one!"
"If the specs aren't that different, then you have to choose based on
design, don't you? But the inside's a problem too. 'Looks cheap' doesn't
cover it. When there's this little effort invested, it just seems like you're
doing it out of spite."
I opened up the interior of one of the Seventh Factory holograms. The
passageways were so narrow, it was as if the designer had been purposely
trying to inconvenience the buyer. It didn't even seem like they'd accounted
for the crew. There was only so far you could go to reduce wastefulness.
"Our productivity and serviceability are in a different league from the
other factories!"
"That's not the problem."
"Th-then..." Refusing to back down, Nias swiftly removed her jacket.
Through her white blouse, I could make out a pretty flashy bra. Was this the
sort of thing one wore when they wanted to make a statement? As I watched
her push her breasts together in an enticing fashion, I remembered something
from my past life: the amount of gaudy underwear I'd never seen before
multiplying in my wife's dresser drawer.
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Meanwhile, ignorant to my musings, Nias was floundering, attempting
to force herself into various sexy poses. I started to feel bad for her as I
watched.
"My lord..." she crooned.
It's just too pitiful. I let my shoulders slump, and tears welled up in
Nias's eyes.
"Why do you look disappointed? You couldn't stop staring at my chest
before!"
"True, but I'm not in the mood right now." My mood had turned rotten,
in fact, from remembering my past life. At night, my wife wouldn't want to
be intimate, yet she kept buying all that lingerie. It was the first thing that
made me suspect she could be having an affair, but I'd decided to believe in
her and avoided grilling her about it.
Apparently thinking she needed to redouble her efforts, Nias undid
some of the buttons on her blouse and opened her legs enough that her
panties were visible. She attempted to win me over with poses she was
clearly not used to making, so embarrassed by her own efforts that she had
flushed crimson.
"W-won't you please buy some battleships, my lord?" She affected a
smile but was trembling slightly from all her strain.
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The sight did nothing for me. Seeing a competent, cool beauty begging
like this, something she'd normally never do, should have excited me, right?
But all I felt for Nias at this moment was pity. She'd ended up eliciting a
reaction from me after all, but what she'd stimulated was my compassion
instead of my sex drive.
"Enough. It hurts to watch this, so I'll buy some already. It was two
hundred, right?"
"Oh, I would appreciate it if you could buy three hundred!"
So now it's three hundred! She is way too determined. And her
seduction didn't even work.
"Amagi, can we afford three hundred ships?" I asked, and Amagi
performed the calculations immediately, supplying me with the answer.
"If we buy fewer ships than we originally considered, yes. From a
long-term standpoint, I believe there will be no detriment to purchasing these
vessels at this time."
I looked back at Nias to find her clasping her hands together, eyes
aglimmer.
"Thank you so much! I'll have them delivered immediately."
"Wait. I'll buy them, but...do something about the exteriors, seriously.
I don't care if it's just for show; put some sort of cover on the outside, even.
You can think of something, can't you? I'll pay you to do something about
the interiors too—they're just too cheap."
As we discussed the deal, Nias patted her chest in relief and pushed her
glasses up, restoring their position. You can try to look professional now, but
I'm not gonna forget that sorry sight I just witnessed.
"You can't understand the beauty of our functional designs?"
"Look, you need to understand how your potential customers feel, and
why you're losing in trials."
Nias, who was sitting atop a table she'd leapt onto during her awkward
show, slumped and hugged her knees to her chest.
"I know, and it really bothers me. I honestly tried talking to my bosses
about all this, but they won't hear it."
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You know I can still see your underwear, right? Maybe don't sit on top
of a table.
Amagi never really showed much emotion, but there was almost some
exasperation written on her face. "It appears her work is the only area she
excels in," she remarked.
And she's so pretty too. A waste of beauty, that's what she is.
Leaving the business particulars to Amagi and Nias to discuss, I exited
the reception room feeling exhausted.
***
Brian strolled the halls of the mansion.
"It's nice that we get so many visitors these days."
Before, no one wanted to visit the mansion due to the nobility's poor
opinion of House Banfield. The fact that they were getting visitors now
meant that people were starting to think well of Liam, and that thought elated
Brian.
In these good spirits, he turned a corner and caught a woman's voice.
"Hm?"
Is that our guest, Miss Nias? He knew it was rude, but he hid and
listened discreetly to her conversation.
"Well, I managed to sell three hundred!"
She seemed to be addressing one of her coworkers at the Seventh
Weapons Factory. From his vantage point, Brian could also see the floating
screen that Nias was talking to.
"But that's with a condition to change the designs, though. The boss-
men aren't gonna like that."
"W-well, what was I supposed to do? He wouldn't buy them otherwise!
We just have to spruce 'em up a bit!" Nias seemed unhappy with her
coworker's response. "How hard do you think I had to work just to achieve
that? Think about what I had to go through!"
"Honestly, I can't believe a straight arrow like you managed to pull off
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a seduction strategy, of all things. How far did you have to go, anyway?"
"Not as far as you're thinking, at least. But trust me, the count's head
over heels for me. His eyes were all over me today—really."
"Really?"
"W-well, probably. I think." Nias's voice grew quieter and quieter as
she lost confidence.
"Maybe you should just aim to become countess while you're at it."
"I'm not gonna go that far. Anyway, you should show me more
respect! My wiles won us this deal, after all!"
"It's only three hundred ships, though, right? We've gotta sell a lot
more than that."
"It's a start, isn't it? Can't you just say 'thank you'?"
From the conversation, Brian surmised that House Banfield would be
purchasing three hundred battleships from the Seventh Weapons Factory.
Although Brian had no choice but to obey his master's orders, there was one
thing about the decision that he just couldn't accept: the fact that Nias had
obviously seduced Liam into buying those ships.
Master Liam fell into a honey trap?
Brian was filled with anxiety for Liam's future.
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